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Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 10:29 am
The delicate light of the morning had completely covered Leana as she slept, dreaming that she was back at the monastery but that her newly acquired friends were with her there. Merro was sitting in an area of the grounds picking flowers, while Letalus sat nearby almost like a statue as a few of the child apprentices decorated him with flowers. Nova was chasing rabbits that were really big, Sentelle was taking a swim in the pond, and Tomlin was asleep up in a tree with a few more child apprentices napping on branches with him. Leana herself was sitting on a stone bench nearby, watching all of them, but had the constant nagging feeling that she was supposed to be doing something important, and in her hand was an old piece of paper. But for some reason she couldn't read it...
There was a cold sensation on her lip and cheek as Leana slowly woke up. Her mouth had been slightly open and a bit of drool had seeped onto her pillow. Quickly she wiped it away and sat up. Her hair was all tossed about, and she went about trying to fix it a bit. She turned to look at Nova-
"Oh good lord, Nova!" she shouted, seeing that the ferret was gone. "Oh no I lost her!"
She freaked out and began to search the room for her furry friend. Leana hoped she hadn't run off and gotten lost. She gave up on the room and started putting her clothes back on, but tripped over and smacked into a chair while trying to get her second boot back on. Frustrated, she continued what she was doing without a care that her head was throbbing a bit now.
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Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 8:27 am
Night went, and morning came.
As always, it was a pain to get down from the rope, collect all his things from around the room, and unfurl the hammock from the rafters. But it was always a neccisity he thought to himself.
As Tomlin put on his jacket, his noticed that the burn that he had on his chest from the day before had shrunk in size, looking more now like a rope burn than a large spoltch. "Good thing I got ye at such a good price.." he said as he patted the hammock, strung together of ropes from the robe belts of clerical monks.
He shoved the hammock into his bag, ruffled his hair a bit, then put on his hat and headed out of his room.
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Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:49 pm
Letalus, not being human, didn't sleep, of course. So while the inn was shrouded in shadow and peaceful silence, he sat on the sill of the room's window, watching the dark shapes of clouds roll across the sky and wondering why he was unable to numb himself to Merro's words and actions. No matter what she said or did, it got under his skin one way or the other...perhaps it would be best to keep some distance between them the coming morning. Regain his cool indifference, despite the unwanted baggage of more people who were turning out to be more trouble than they were worth.
As the shadows dissipated in the rising dawn, Merro was not on Letalus' mind. In fact, nothing was on his mind. He was hunched over on the windowsill like an oversized doll, eyes closed. His skin was even colder than normal and he didn't even give the illusion of breathing.
Letalus didn't sleep but he did, at random intervals, "shut down."
OOC: I would prefer that Sentelle not know what's going on with Letalus, as this isn't something inherent in what he is nor is it in anything written about him.
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Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 9:31 pm
Merro came awake by degrees, feeling warmth and the heaviness of a coverlet, noticing the texture of the pillow she rubbed her face in, realizing she was not at home and becoming a bit more self-aware and then finally blinking open her eyes. Staring squint-eyed over the edge of the bed at the uninteresting and unfamiliar vista of table, chairs, and door for a minute or two, Merro tried to reorient herself with her current situation.
Her eyes rested upon the chair that Letalus had occupied and then she shut them tight and buried her face into her pillow again, groaning at herself. What evil charm did Letalus keep about him that shredded her self-possession the closer he got to her? She'd silently endured countless vile insults and beatings from the man she loathed most in the world but let Letalus berate her for acting like a spoilt noblewoman or give her a sneering look and she would lose control and screech at him like a banshee. Too sleepy yet to try and sort anything out, she shelved the problem by simply deciding to keep as much distance between herself and her captor as possible.
Keeping her eyes turned away from the morning light streaming in through the window, she sighed and crept out of bed, knowing that there was much to be done that day. She would need to find Leana and have the girl show her the way to the best pawn shop, and there were more purchases to be made as well. Merro had clothing enough for now, but they would need more than that to make it comfortably to Mount Kiadawel. Her feet touched down upon the floor well enough, but once she got up she was suddenly taken by a wave of nausea and dizziness, and she ended up landing upon her hands and knees.
Breathing shakily and blinking, Merro wondered with a touch of fear whether the sword was draining her again, but then she realized that somehow she could still feel an excess of energy residing throughout her entire body. The prior day's events should have been more than could have been cured by one short night's rest, but the physical fatigue was negligible. Merro realized all of a sudden that she'd not had any food since leaving her father's keep, and no water since a sip upon waking up in Birell's jail.
Food first, she amended silently, with a shake of her head at forgetting such a thing in all the excitement. Taking a deep breath, Merro turned back to the bed and used it to help herself up, and then gasped in surprise as she caught sight of the figure in the window embrasure.
"Merciful Saints, could you not let me know you were there?!" she blurted, her voice a sleep-cracked rasp. She narrowed her eyes as it came to her that he'd actually spent the night in the same room, and she rose up to add some more choice words, but paused as there was no reply, nor indeed any sort of response at all. She stepped closer curiously, a little smile quirking her lips at seeing him so soundly asleep. Creeping closer and then bending close to peep inquiringly past his bangs, she murmured,
"Witless man, staying alone with me a night when you know there's a risk of being discovered. Who'd he kill first; me for becoming unmarriageable or you for making me so?"
The smile fell slowly from her face and a frown appeared instead.
"Letalus?"
She stared at him, at how silent and still he was. How completely still. She called him again, louder, and then grabbed his wrist in a sudden panic. Her fingers jerked back before she could give him the shake she'd intended, finding the skin fearfully cold. Snatching at a desperate hope that his limbs were simply chilled from a night spent shirtless by a window, Merro grabbed at his face and neck, knocking her forehead against him as she held a palm to his face and stared intently.
What she sought, she did not find, and she stepped so quickly back from the body that she seemed to fly back from a blow, fetching up against the wall with her hands clasped tightly over her mouth. Merro stayed frozen for a long moment and then ran out from the room. Once in the hallway, she glanced wildly back and forth at the other doors, hardly knowing from whom she sought aid, nor what aid she thought someone might be able to provide. Her eyes were wide and her air panicked, her breath came in short gasps and she looked hardly less wild than last night after the werewolf's demise.
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 8:57 am
Leana had managed to get her boots on properly, without damaging anything or herself, and made her way into the hall. She hoped up on hope that Nova was okay...who knew where a little ferret could run off to in the night?
But as she went into the hall, she spotted someone she recognized. It was Merro. From that distance, she couldn't tell what was up.
"Merro!" she cried as quietly as she could without disturbing the other guests. "Hey, have you seen Nova? She's not in my room and..."
Her words slowed to a stop and she did so as well as she came closer to Merro. The girl looked similar to how she had last night, and suddenly Leana knew something was wrong.
"Merro?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:20 am
Closing and locking the door behind him, he noticed a commotion coming from down the hallway. "What the devil.." he said under his breath, heading that way.
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 7:36 pm
She turned her head toward the sound of the voice, recognizing her own name but not registering the girl's words amidst her sudden shock. Merro simply looked at Leana for a long while without seeming to actually see the other young woman, her mouth open and her jaw working slightly as she tried to grasp the situation she'd awoken to.
It just wasn't true. It couldn't be. The thing was impossible. He'd killed a werewolf just the other night. No man could do such a thing and not be hale and hearty. He'd fought off bandits. He'd picked her up as easily as nothing - twice - and carried her about as if she weighed no more than a chicken. He was young. He was strong. He was the picture of health.
He was dead?
"He..." she managed to whisper, but then she couldn't bring herself to actually say it. Somehow it seemed to her that she must be mistaken, or that there must be some way out of this mess, but that naming the evil would give it the power to be so, and so she could not say the words.
Giving Leana a confused and lost look, she said in a faint voice,
"I can't wake him."
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 8:01 pm
Merro's behavior was so odd, but it was clear she was in so much shock that she probably couldn't think straight. Leana put a hand on her shoulder to try to comfort her but having no idea what the effect would be.
"Wait...Merro..." she said, trying to contemplate the words herself. "You can't wake him? Him who? What are you talking about?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 3:02 pm
Sentelle knew well enough that the answer would not simply come to her, she would have to find Letalus and ask him what had happened. First things first though, she needed to spend time in supplication. All her belongingswere in the room across the hall however, Sentelle stretched and threw back the covers.
Sentelle picked up Merro's sword on her way to the door. Her prayer would include a request to read the writing on the blade. She suspected this sword was the same as the one in her dream. That thought frightened her more than she cared to admit.
As she opened the door she heard Merro's voice: "I can't wake him."
The him Sentelle assumed Merro was referring to was Letalus. What had possessed Letalus to spend the night alone in the same room with Merro? Sentelle unconsciously gripped the sword tighter. Do not be cross with the golem. It is my fault you are here and not his. a voice echoed in her mind. Sentelle sighed and stepped into the hall as her thoughts raced.
She was aware that as a golem Letalus did not sleep, she also suspected that whatever it was that had happened her divine healing would not recover him. Sentelle suddenly envisioned a room full of people examining him and she suspected that was the last thing that he would want.
Sentelle stepped into the hall and curtly addressed Merro, "I need to be left in peace for my morning prayers," she said appearing oblivious to Merro's distress. "Perhaps you can get yourself some breakfast," she added as she continued across the hall to her room.
OOC: My intention is for her to shut the door and lock Merro out, but I din't want to overdo it.
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 8:46 pm
Unpleasantly startled at being touched, Merro involuntarily started and shied away from Leana's attempt at gentling her. Before she could attempt to explain, she realized that Sentelle had appeared from the room across the hall and approached.
Sentelle was apparently not a morning person. Merro's natural reaction to being so casually dismissed without so much as a common greeting shook some of the haze from her state of mind, and though she had not any time to think things through completely, it struck her as an exceedingly bad thing for this woman to walk into their room and find a dead man on the window ledge. She put a hand out to the doorframe and took a step sideways as well to place herself in the way, though trying to make it look as if she simply were preparing to step back into the room.
"Good morn, Lady ZhaDurn," she said, attempting to keep her voice steady and not quite succeeding. "If it is solitude you desire, then your prayers might best be said in the room where you stayed the night." Her eyes cut over to Leana and a new thought inspired her.
"Leana has come to accompany me on my errands and I need to dress. I do thank you for bringing me my sword, however." She nodded her head in what she hoped seemed like grateful acknowledgment and held out her hand with a faint smile. That last bit had been complete impulse, but it seemed a good one.
ooc: My apologies, but Merro refused to stand aside. ._.;
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 9:39 pm
Leana didn't feel hurt that Merro shied away from her...she'd expected that. But Sentelle's sudden presence made Leana back up a bit. She'd realized that the two of them had been together more often the night before, and felt like she was now slightly intruding and a bit ignored.
Merro was clearly acting strange but Leana understood. But she couldn't tell if she was trying to get Sentelle involved and help them or trying to get her to leave. It was all so confusing. Leana tried to glance inside Merro's room but couldn't see much from there.
Then Merro mentioned Leana a bit, which made Leana feel needed, and that made her feel better. She looked over to Merro, waiting for commands on...whatever she needed help with...which still wasn't entirely clear to Leana. And she wasn't sure about what Merro wanted with the sword...unless it was to distract Sentelle.
Nova was gone, Merro was freaked out, and Sentelle seemed in a bad mood. Leana put a hand on her head and quietly muttered, "I'm so confused..."
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 9:48 pm
"I would be too, with all this muttering and non-sensical bickering about." Tomlin said, quite audible to the rest of the people in the hallway. "Better a day with a full stomache than an empty one..." he trailed as he passed, heading downstairs and into the hallway towards the main common room.
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Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 12:07 pm
Korix was awakened by the sounds of other inn patrons emerging from their rooms. Korix squinted as bright sunlight streamed onto his face through the window. He felt a weight pressing on his chest and reached down to stroke the smooth scaly skin of his shocker lizard familiar. Instead his hand touched cold damp fur. Shocked by revulsion, Korix sat up to find himslef looking into the lifeless eyes of a dead rat laying on his chest. Kaydee peeked up over the edge of the bed to appraise her master's approval of the gift she had left him. "Thank's, Kaydee" Korix said forcing a smile. Then, brushing the rat aside, he got up out of bed to get dressed.
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Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 6:39 pm
Nova was graciously spoiled by the two, giddy noblewomen; their social status obviously pointed out by the sheer frivolous nature they had with money and their attitude towards the employees of the inn. Though the she often shunned to mistreatment of any living soul, she really enjoyed the taste and flavor of prepared meat too well for her own good.
Nova laid on her back, stretched out atop the bar in front of three plates of bone remains. She hardly ate this much, but she was incredibly famished this morning. She sported a ferrety smile across her muzzle as she allowed the women to "massage" her head and belly with their fingers. Luckily she could drown out the annoying squealing of the two females.
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2008 2:19 am
Sentelle's pace did not lessen as she approached her room, rather she headed straight for Merro and gave her a firm (but not rough) push on the shoulder. Shutting the door behind the two of them she uttered "adorum," and turned to face the girl.
"And a good morning to you too Lady Kisan." Sentelle said in a dangerously subdued tone as she offered an exaggerated curtsy. "If, as I suspect, you wish to keep your title from others' knowledge then I suggest you get off your high horse." Her tone grew more stern as she continued, "If you wish to flaunt your title then do so with the knowledge that outside your realm that title carries little meaning, and even less respect." Her eyes were cold and her carriage rigid, yet Sentelle was quite oblivious to just how intimidating she could appear.
She looked pointedly at Merro, "Peace and solitude are two very different things. My prayers will be said in peace and they will be said in this room. As for this," Sentelle extended the point of the blade to Merro in such a manner that conveyed she was capable of wielding it, "this will not be returned to you until you and I have had a long honest discussion about it." Sentelle let the blade rest at her side once more, "And that will be delayed until after my morning prayers."
Sentelle offered no verbal response to Merros' absurd request to dress without her presence. For one the girl had not been bothered by bathing with her present, secondly she had been running about in her shift last night as well as having left her room in nothing more this morning, and thirdly Letalus was in the room and his presence should concern Merro more than her own.
OOC: "Adorum" is the verbal component for a simple spell that Avery taught her. It prevents a key from unlocking the door. It will pose no impediment to a rogue worth his or her salt. It will also not prevent Merro from unlocking and opening the door (from the inside).
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